The best running trails around Gams

Barbecue area with wood supply available.

Nice barbecue area with firewood provided.

Chapel "Maria hilf", Gams The chapel "Maria hilf" in Gasenzen was rebuilt in 1821 in honor of the late Gothic, crowned Madonna from the 15th century. It was financed with its own funds and through compulsory labor. The church community acted as the sponsor together with the local community. According to legend, this statue of the Mother of God was forgotten in a barn after it survived the iconoclasm of 1529 - hidden there by a devout farmer from Grabs. At the beginning of the 18th century, a Catholic farmhand asked for the dusty Madonna as a farewell gift for his many years of service. After a time in Wildhaus, the saint's figure found its place in a shrine in the hamlet of Gasenzen after the death of the "new" owner. Twice, however, a night watchman observed the Madonna miraculously floating to a certain place in a meadow. At this destination of her nightly wanderings, she now found her permanent "home" through the construction of a chapel. The chapel has been the sole property of the Catholic parish since 1875. Because the building was in a precarious condition, the chapel was converted into a simple, flat-vaulted baroque church with a five-sided choir in 1877 under the direction of architect Karl Reichlin. A second renovation took place in 1922/23 under the direction of architect Adolf Gaudy, Rorschach. The current interior paintings by the Vitznau artist J. Schneider and the baroque altar were created during this restoration. He also had the two bells recast in Staad. The exterior painting on the gable front above the entrance was only created in 1957 by Pastor Schnüriger from Maladers. In order to preserve the structural integrity of this very beautiful building in the Gasenzen district, a gentle overall restoration was carried out in 1994 under the supervision of the old monument conservator Benito Boari from Mörschwil. The work on the pictures, statues, stucco and altars was very time-consuming. A restorer carried out a thorough examination of the statue of the Mother of God and identified three not very successful overpaintings. Only a few relics of the Gothic version were found. An unexpected donor made a restrained restoration of the Madonna possible, which has since shone even more beautifully with its expressive face above the baroque high altar. In 2010 and 2019, due to heavy street dust and soot emissions, an interior cleaning was necessary, at the end of which the walls were repainted. In 2020, the Mother of God was cleaned again. In 2021, the restoration of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim will follow. Text / Source: Catholic Church Werdenberg / Gams https://www.kathwerdenberg.ch/gams/pfarrei/unsere-kirche

beautiful view

The "Maria hilf" chapel in Gasenzen was rebuilt in 1821 in honor of the late Gothic, crowned Madonna from the 15th century. It was financed with its own funds and through forced labor. The church community acted as the sponsor together with the local community. According to legend, this statue of the Mother of God was forgotten in a barn after it survived the iconoclasm of 1529 - hidden there by a devout farmer from Grabs. At the beginning of the 18th century, a Catholic servant asked for the dusty Madonna as a farewell gift for his many years of service. After a time in Wildhaus, the saint's figure found its place in a shrine in the hamlet of Gasenzen after the death of the "new" owner. Twice, however, a night watchman observed the Madonna as she miraculously floated to a certain place in a meadow. At this destination of her nightly wanderings, she was given a permanent "home" through the construction of a chapel. The chapel has been the sole property of the Catholic parish since 1875. Because the building was in a precarious condition, the chapel was converted into a simple, flat-vaulted baroque church with a five-sided choir in 1877 under the direction of architect Karl Reichlin. A second renovation took place in 1922/23 under the direction of architect Adolf Gaudy, Rorschach. The current interior paintings by the Vitznau artist J. Schneider and the baroque altar were created during this restoration. He also had the two bells recast in Staad. The exterior painting on the gable front above the entrance was only created in 1957 by Pastor Schnüriger from Maladers. In order to preserve the structural integrity of this very beautiful building in the Gasenzen district, a gentle overall restoration was carried out in 1994 under the supervision of former monument conservator Benito Boari, Mörschwil. The work on the pictures, statues, stucco and altars was very time-consuming. A restorer carried out a thorough examination of the statue of the Mother of God and found three not very successful overpaintings. Only a few relics of the Gothic version were found. An unexpected donor made a restrained restoration of the Madonna possible, which has since shined even more beautifully with its expressive face above the baroque high altar. In 2010 and 2019, heavy street dust and soot emissions made it necessary to clean the interior, which was then followed by repainting the walls. In 2020, the Mother of God was cleaned again. In 2021, the restoration of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim will follow.